Pinoys still prefer house and lot

House and lot remains the most searched property amongFilipinos looking for residential properties online, according to Lamudi.

Based on the 2017 traffic and listings in its website Lamudi.com.ph, 59 percent of property hunters were looking for houses while 14 percent were searching for condominiums, followed by land/lots at 12 percent and apartments at 11 percent.

Of the house and lot searches, 49 percent looked for properties priced at P5 million and below, 35 percent for homes priced up to P20 million, 13 percent for those priced up to P150 million, and interestingly, 4 percent for those with over P150 million price tag.

“We believe for this to be a perfect reflection of the demand of the property seeker market in the Philippines,” said Bhavna Suresh, chief executive officer ofLamudi Philippines.

“These searches, representing demand, are reflective of the real market scenario that as more unit types (supply) and price ranges are made available online to the market, the more concrete the demand patterns of the buyers become,” she added.

Lamudi said the data also showed the country’s property sector remains a buyer’s market, with 61 percent of listed properties up for sale and only 39 percent were for lease.

“They absorb what is pushed into the market, and with so many options now made available to them, they can easily find what suits their needs best,” said Suresh.

Lamudi said Quezon City remains the main source of properties posted online owning up to 18 percent of the listings on the platform, followed by Makati at 12 percent, Parañaque and Pasig both at 8 percent each, and Taguig, Manila and Davao at 7 percent each.

Quezon City also hosts most of online property searchers, accounting for over 15 percent of the total views, followed by Makati at 10 percent.

Lamudi said searches from established cities outside of Metro Manila like Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod, General Santos City and Cagayan de Oro have started to grow in the past three years.

These numbers indicate a robust supply and demand environment in the property market across the country, said Suresh, with “more demand for both residential and commercial properties in the next several years” seen in line with the economy’s growth.

“This is also driven by the government’s plans of massive infrastructure investments through the Build, Build, Build program,” she added.

Lamudinoted continued growth in online searches for real estate properties over the years. Its website had 15 million user visits last year, 20 percent up from the prior year, clocking in a total of 2.7 million hours of online stay,a 40 percent increase.

“More developers, brokers, and owners are now breaking the brick and mortar barrier to crossover to the click and discover business environment,” said Suresh.

She added thatLamudisaw close to five times growth in online traffic since 2014, indicating Filipinos’ growing acceptance of property technology (PropTech) as a tool to help them make a major purchase decision.

“Our role in the PropTech sector is to help establish more transparency in the market. Lamudi sees itself as a collaborator, open to working with the public and the private sectors to move the industry forward,”Suresh said

“In fact, we signed an agreement with HLURB (Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board) recently to help real estate regulating body to bolster their information campaign, protect property buyers, and help them make sound property purchase decisions,” she added.

In 2017, Lamudi hosted more than 100,000 active listings, accounting to over 1.1 billion square meters of properties for sale or for lease – a mix of residential condominiums, house and lots, apartments, commercial spaces, raw lots and foreclosed properties located across the Philippines.

The portal has a network of 5,000 real estate brokers posting these properties, of which only Professional Regulation Commission-licensed practitioners are enrolled to ensure credibility and professionalism.

Suresh said buyers check at least eight listings on average, spending 10 minutes per visit, indicating their serious need for comparison when it comes to making a decision. About 60 percent of these organically driven sessions are repeat visits which means searchers have high intent in purchasing or leasing a property in the next six to 12 months.

“Buyers naturally do some ‘property window shopping’ before zeroing in on a shortlist and making a purchase decision. Doing it online is more efficient and complements their usual showroom and on-site ocular visits,” Suresh said.

Property consultant Colliers International, meanwhile, said take-up in the condominium market continues to post record level, bringing property prices with it, with 52,600 units sold last year in Manila alone, up 25.24 percent from the prior year’s 42,000 units.This is the highest annual take-up since 2012.

“Given record number of take-up, it was not surprising to see prices rise to record levels as well. Meanwhile, rents have been declining or flat at best, due to the combined effect of a double-digit vacancy and the influx of new supply. Naturally, residential yields are declining. We consider yields, bank mortgage rates, and capital appreciation potential to attempt to answer whether investments in condominiums will continue,”said DinboMacaranas, Colliers senior research manager.

“We noted that condominium demand will remain considering that: (a) Metro Manila still has more attractive rental yields than most Asian Cities; (b) Even when adjusted for inflation, return remained positive for key Metro Manila locations; and (c) if we include capital appreciation, the returns become even more attractive,” Macaranas added.

Colliers said Metro Manila central business districts’ (CBDs) condominium stock stands at 101,500 units, with approximately 2,900 units delivered in the last quarter of 2017 alone.

“The completions during the quarter were concentrated in Fort Bonifacio and Makati CBD, allowing them to increase their leads as the two biggest shareholders among submarkets with 27 percent and 25 percent of total stock, respectively. They were followed by Ortigas Center with 17 percent and Manila Bay area with 11 percent,” Macaranas said.

He added supply in 2018 is expected to reach 27,200 units, a record high for Metro Manila, with the completion of multiple projects, putting upward pressure on condominium vacancy to reach mid-teen levels by yearend.

“However, with fewer completions expected in the years that follow, we project that vacancy will tumble back to the pre-teens range by 2019 and 2020,” Macaranassaid.

For the fourth quarter of 2017, Metro Manila vacancy was largely flat at 12.6 percent from the previous quarter’s 12.7 percent, primarily due to delays in construction during the period and the rental market demand from young professionals.

Colliers noticed a growing community of Chinese and Korean nationals in CBDs more recently.

“Primary CBDs saw marginal changes in vacancy from last quarter. Manila Bay Area and Fort Bonifacio have highest vacancy driven by the size of stock available in these locations. Manila Bay Area vacancy improved from 18.3 percent to 17.2 percent. We attribute this to the absence of new supply in the location during the quarter and the growing demand from employees of offshore gambling companies which typically look for residential component to complement their office space requirements,” it said.

Colliers noted a slight increase in vacancy at Fort Bonifacio from 15.3 percent to 15.7 percent given the new supply in the area, offset by demand from young professionals.

Column of the Day

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